Chemical composition and radical scavenging activity of Citrus limon peel essential oil

Abstract

The water distillated essential oil of Citruslimon collected from Ramsar, Province of Mazandaran, North of Iran collected in December 2013, was analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The yield of oil was 0.23% w/w. Twenty-one components representing 100% of the essential oil were characterized. Limonene (61.4%), b-pinene (13.1%) and g-terpinene (11.3%) were identified as the main constituents in the volatile oil. The antioxidant ability of the oil was examined by free radical scavenging method using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical at different concentration of the oil. The Citruslimon oil exhibited free-radical-scavenging properties with IC50 value of 284.71μg ml-1.